Downhill racing took heart stage Saturday on the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, following Friday’s qualification runs. The Junior and Elite fields took on the legendary Black Snake observe, a steep, rocky, and root-filled course recognized for its demanding terrain, requiring riders to handle fatigue all through their runs.

Elite Males

The Elite Males’s Downhill ultimate got here all the way down to razor-thin margins, with riders pushing for each fraction of a second on a course that grew to become more and more dusty and slippery all through the day. Simply 1.508 seconds separated the highest 4, leaving little room for even the smallest mistake. 

Asa Vermette (Durango, Colo.; Frameworks Racing) delivered the highest U.S. journey, attacking the course and shifting into second by the primary main break up. He stayed in podium rivalry all through his run and completed fourth, narrowly lacking a medal after the ultimate riders got here down the mountain. 

Luca Shaw (Pisgah Forest, N.C.; Canyon CLLCTV Manufacturing facility Staff) was shut behind, discovering time via the higher and center sections earlier than a few small errors price him precious seconds. He crossed the road in sixth, giving Staff USA two riders inside the highest six.

Outcomes:

1.  Jackson Goldstone (CAN) – 3:28.785

2.  Lachlan Stevens-McNab (NZL) – +0.695

3.  Jordan Williams (GBR) – +0.702

4. Asa Vermette (USA) – +1.508

6. Luca Shaw (USA) – +3.142

25. Ryan Pinkerton (USA) – +8.266

26. Dylan Maples (USA) – +8.480

30. Richie Impolite (USA) – +9.433

40. Evan Medcalf (USA) – +13.647

Elite Girls

After changing into the primary American lady in 23 years to win an Elite UCI Downhill World Cup earlier this summer season, Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; Frameworks Racing) continued her robust season in Val di Sole, crossing the road in 4:09.962 for tenth place. Maylei Leaneagh (Longmont, Colo.; ZFR Staff) was shut behind, ending thirteenth in 4:15.120 to present Staff USA two riders inside the highest 15.

Outcomes:

1. Valentina Höll (AUT) – 4:01.558

2. Lisa Baumann (SUI) – +1.728

3. Harriet Harnden (GBR) – +2.046

10. Anna Newkirk (USA) – +8.404

13. Maylei Leaneagh (USA) – +13.562

36. Matilda Melton (USA) – +57.585

Junior Males

Boston Bryant (Lehi, Utah; Outlaw Bike Staff) led the way in which for the American junior males, shifting up via the second half of the course to complete eighth in 3:50.867. Luke Mallen (Sandy, Utah; Outlaw Bike Staff) adopted intently behind, holding a powerful place all through a lot of his run and crossing the road tenth in 3:51.736.

Outcomes:

1. Raoul Schneeberger (SUI) – 3:47.477

2. Felix Griffiths (GBR) – +0.450

3. Filippo Gilardino (ITA) – +1.180

8. Boston Bryant (USA) – +3.390

10. Luke Mallen (USA) – +4.259

44. Alexander Mallen (USA) – +20.847

Junior Girls

As the ultimate rider to drop in, U.S. Junior Nationwide Champion Aletha Ostgaard (Selah, Wash.; Canyon CLLCTV Manufacturing facility Staff) delivered a silver-medal journey within the Junior Girls’s Downhill ultimate, ending in 4:20.959. The end result moved her up one spot from final 12 months’s bronze-medal end within the class. 

Winter Bush (Pagosa Springs, Colo.; Outlaw Bike Staff) additionally had a powerful journey, taking on the recent seat after her run and holding a podium place till the ultimate riders got here down the course. She in the end completed fourth in 4:38.392. 

Sisters Zanna and Raina Logar (Davis, W.Va.; Frameworks Racing) completed back-to-back, with Zanna crossing the road eleventh in 4:45.989 and Raina following in twelfth at 4:47.414.

Outcomes:

1. Tilly Boadle (AUS) – 4:13.323

2. Aletha Ostgaard (USA) – +7.636

3. Indy Deavoll (NZL) – +16.895

4. Winter Bush (USA) – +25.069

11. Zanna Logar (USA) – +32.666

12. Raina Logar (USA) – +34.091

Subsequent Up: The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships conclude Sunday with the Beneath-23 and Elite XCO occasions. 

USA Biking’s participation within the World Championships is made attainable via the help of devoted donors and companions. Go to Bentonville and the Arkansas Division of Parks, Heritage and Tourism are key companions of our Mountain Bike program, each sharing our mission to raise the game of biking.

To help the USA Biking Nationwide Staff, USA Biking members and followers can donate to the USA Biking Basis right here.